Over the holidays, I came across a quote that spoke volumes to me in reflection over all that was 2013 for me:

“Your greatness is not in what you have, but in what you give.”

I thought that was an amazing moment as I had a Christmas request given to me from 9 year old Ella

The path I chose for my young adult life was not only from opportunities presenting themselves, but from looking back on my past moments and knowing that I could use those as something greater than just learning experiences. That’s when (unknowingly) I started my career within the world of this-ability (the word “disability” is just so ill-fitting by now, I kind of refuse to use it). It started with being a camp counselor (which I still look forward to more than most things each year) and has gone into years of an incredible job with a global prosthetic manufacturer and a training camp within the Australian Institute of Sport.

Track meets on track meets on Thursdays here…

Before my college graduation I looked back at my life as a “normal” (or closest thing to) kid growing up and doing a sport through a Division I collegiate level. I have truly been blessed to have all of the people and resources that I have had in my life to learn the tools that I still use today, not only as an amputee but also as an adult. I knew that if I could share those things with parents and kids growing up with anything that they felt made them “different” from everyone else, then maaaaybe I could give back a fraction of what has been given to me.

When I received that note from Miss Ella, I knew that in this moment, I’m exactly where I need to be and doing what I should.

Someone somewhere sometime ago, did the same for me, and it has made all the difference.

Maya Angelou — “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”